When the New World was two centuries newer, Washington Irving set a fable, "Rip Van Winkle," in the oldest parts of New York State, where the original Dutch settlers' culture still lingered. Life was European then—just set in America. But progress stops for no man. The story's hero evades his nagging wife in the wilds… »3/18/15 2:53pm 3/18/15 2:53pm

My younger son and I have ongoing and endless discussions about Star Wars, the principal folktale in which he finds meaning. When his brother was around the same age, he demanded that I tell him and re-tell him the story of the Three Little Pigs. This one waits for a pause in the dinner conversation every day, then… »12/09/14 5:33pm 12/09/14 5:33pm

Members of Congress and conservative lobbyists have been celebrating a very special birthday: President George W. Bush's official activation of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system. But the sad truth is that they're celebrating 10 years of self-delusion. The project is broken, despite the $40 billion spent on it.»10/16/14 12:15pm 10/16/14 12:15pm

Last weekend, along with some really obvious, glorious and not so glorious goals, we saw one that was a little trickier. French striker Karim Benzema's shot hit the upright and then bounced off Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares toward the goal line. Vallardes thought he had saved it, Benzema thought he had scored,… »6/20/14 3:42pm 6/20/14 3:42pm

Nothing happens quickly in the NHL. Fighting still exists. Visors were only mandated for incoming players last year. But the league is reportedly preparing to test player-tracking technology, and if it takes, we're not far away from a complete and sudden revolution in how we understand the sport. »5/13/14 2:27pm 5/13/14 2:27pm

Last month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a scathing report: the system to defend the U.S. from ballistic missiles doesn't work, and probably never will. But it gets worse. Congress then voted to expand the broken system, allocating money for a new, sub-par missile defense site. How did this happen? »5/09/14 11:18am 5/09/14 11:18am

Here is what you need in order to work out: your own body, something to wear, at least 64 cubic feet of space (though less will do in a pinch). Here is what you do not need: a computer on your wrist. Particularly not if that computer is trying to snitch on you. »4/22/14 11:32am 4/22/14 11:32am

Mark Gorton is a prominent financier and a respected entrepreneur. He founded the music sharing site Limewire, and he runs Tower Research, a famed high-frequency trading firm. Gorton also believes that the "ruthless" secret cabal that assassinated JFK and planned 9/11 could be coming to kill his family. »4/10/14 4:08pm 4/10/14 4:08pm

As drones, cyberattacks and other high-tech developments change the nature of war, two prominent scholars argue that we must also rethink who fights our wars: the time has come, they say, to bring back the draft. »4/03/14 11:18pm 4/03/14 11:18pm

Every day on my way to work, I spend the entire train ride deleting inane press releases from my email inbox. Diet pills? Delete. A series of seminars on how to convince your boyfriend to propose? Delete. The launch of a new cake flavored vodka made especially for tampon soakage? .... Archive. But the other week, one… »3/05/14 6:04pm 3/05/14 6:04pm

Over at Slate the normally amiable Josh Levin is lighting torches and sharpening farm implements, trying to foment a revolution — and he needs your help! All it takes is a few minutes of your time to hector your cable company into offering you a basic service that such benighted Podunks as Ireland and Australia… »6/22/13 2:45pm 6/22/13 2:45pm

Here's Noble Ackerson, a so-called "Glass Explorer," trying out his Google Glass in a gym session yesterday. The view sure looks a lot like a dude wearing a mounted camera like a GoPro while he shoots hoops (there has to be an option to record the "robot view" eventually, right?), but if this makes for a more… »5/02/13 4:25pm 5/02/13 4:25pm